Sanjay G. Reddy's blog on economics and other subjects

The BRICS and a Changing World

This July and August, I led an international group of experts in preparing an Economic Report on the role of the BRICS countries (Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa) in the world economy and international development. The Report was commissioned as an input to the Summit of BRICS countries that took place in early September 2017 in Xiamen, China.

It surveys the BRICS countries’ sizable contribution to global growth, trade and investment, evaluates the prospects for this to continue in the future, and explores the possible role that these countries can play in bolstering the global economy, in reshaping international economic arrangements and in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and to international development generally. An important conclusion in the report is that continued BRICS growth as well as policy initiatives can substantially benefit other developing countries (the report uses the IMF category of Emerging Market and Developing Countries, or EMDCs) – and developed countries too. I will be pleased if the report will be circulated widely, and welcome all reactions.

The experts making contributions to the report included Zhiyuan Cui, Martin Guzman, Arjun Jayadev, Inge Kaul, Terry McKinley and Paulo dos Santos. They were supported by a number of other contributors, including Joana Avritzer, Francis Cripps, Pablo Gluzmann, Rahul Lahoti, Neva Nahtigal and Xiao-Zhuang Zhou. Peter Dimock was the editor and Mohamed Obaidy was the project manager. (The report could not have been produced without either of them). The design of the report was undertaken by Twist Open Innovations. The report was commissioned by the New Development Bank but neither it nor any individual contributor bears responsibility for all of its contents.